Rain stopped Play

Sunny spells at first then rain p.m., 19°, breezy SSW.

Rain stopped play after midday except for a brief interlude mid-afternoon when another sea-watch took place.

Very little in the way of migrants today, most caught by ringer s rather than observed in the field.

2 Tree Pipit, a Grasshopper Warbler, a Sedge Warbler, a Firecrest, 3 Willow Warbler, 2 Grey Wagtail, a Yellow Wagtail and a Wheatear.

Sea-watch: 2 Arctic Skua, 6 Balearic Shearwater, 20+ Manx Shearwater and 60+ Gannet.

Butterflies: Small White and Speckled Wood.

Moths: Possibly a record count of 10 Convolvulus Hawkmoth caught at the obs, 3Striped Hawkmoth, a Cosmopolitan and a Lilac Beauty, also a Hummingbird Hawkmoth buzzing around nicotinia during the dryish spells.

Tree Pipit

Firecrest

One of the young Robins at the obs coming for its meal worm breakfast

9 Convolvulus Hawkmoth (1 escaped) and a Striped Hawkmoth

Bunk & Lollingdon

Sunny spells, 27°, Light WSW.

2 Common Redstart, Lollingdon. Per RW.

Tree Pipit, Bunk area. Per RB.

Bunk: a Stonechat, a Willow Warbler, 9 Chiffchaff, 3 Common Whitethroat, 5 Blackcap, 12 Swallow, 4 House Martin, 7 Swift, 5 Yellowhammer, 30+ Linnet, 2 Sparrowhawk, a Hobby, 2 Grey Heron, 2 Herring Gull, etc.

8 Swift over garden at 20:10 last evening.

Mammals: Short-tailed Vole. Common Pipistrelle hunting around garden frequently in last few weeks.

Dragonflies: Southern Hawker and Migrant Hawker.

Butterflies: Small White, Common Blue, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown.

Redstart courtesy Roger Wyatt

Stonechat

Lancaster Bomber with a Swallow above but a lot closer

A dull day but lots of Birds

Overcast, 13°, light SE.

Good to get out after a few days of decorating. A rather dull day weather wise but loads of birds around.

Lollingdon, Cholsey Meadows, River and Bunk areas.

A number of fields have recently been tilled along the Bunk area and Cholsey Hill and it seems to have attracted large numbers of birds.

1000+ Gulls, mainly Lesser Blackback, plus Black-headed and Herring that could be positively ID’d.

1000+ Wood Pigeon, 1000+ Corvids, mainly Rook and Jackdaw with Carrion Crow, Magpie and 2 Raven and a 1000+ Starling.

A few scarcities noted, with a Brambling feeding with c20 Chaffinch and a very late Tree Pipit heard overhead flying with 3 Meadow Pipit in the Bunk area and a Sanderling on the Floods at Lollingdon. Todays Sanderling is a first record for Cholsey that takes us to 204 bird species for the parish.

c50 Pied Wagtail, 100+ Meadow Pipit, 25+ Skylark, 50+ Linnet, 7 Grey Heron, 6 Yellowhammer, a Reed Bunting, Water Rail, Common Snipe, 2 Shoveler, Teal (2 sites), Kingfisher, Sparrowhawk, good numbers of both Fieldfare and Redwing and a Grey Wagtail.

AD & PC.

Sanderling courtesy Alan

Pair of Shoveler courtesy Alan

Black-headed Gull

One of the Gull flocks

Pied Wagtail

Some of the Starling

High flying Sparrowhawk

Portland: Day 10.

Sunny, 18°, light NE.

An on/off sea watch today and a little less walking.

5 Manx Shearwater, 2 Balearic Shearwater, 1 Arctic Skua, 100+ Kittiwake, 15 Knot, 3 Wigeon, 10+ Auk, many Gannet etc.

2 Buzzard, Marsh Harrier, 2 Sparrowhawk, a Short-eared Owl, a Little Owl, 300+ Swallow, 100+ House Martin, 30+ Sand Martin, 25 Yellow Wagtail, 12 Grey Wagtail, 19 “alba” Wagtail, c200 Meadow Pipit, 3 Tree Pipit, 20+ Chiffchaff, 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Sedge Warbler, 2 Blackcap, 1 Common Redstart, 1 Whinchat, 3 Stonechat, 1 Spotted Flycatcher and 1 Pied Flycatcher, etc.

Dragonflies: Migrant Hawker & Common Darter.

Butterflies: fewer numbers of both Whites, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood and Small Heath.

Many Blue-fin Tuna still feeding offshore.

Sunrise

Portland: Day 9.

A cloudy start then clearing, 18°, light SW.

A cloudy and damp start to the day looked very promising but it soon fizzled out to be followed by glorious sunshine for the rest of the day which made for hard work in finding birds.

However, an improvement on the last few days.

The long staying Marsh Harrier, a Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Little Owl, 8 Yellow Wagtail, 6 Grey Wagtail, 60+ Meadow Pipit, 6 Tree Pipit, 2 Skylark, c35 Swallow, 5 House Martin, 4 Sand Martin, 2 Whinchat, 5 Stonechat, a Sedge Warbler, a Common Whitethroat, 6 Blackcap, 3 Willow Warbler, c25 Chiffchaff, a Pied Flycatcher and a Spotted Flycatcher.

A brief look at the sea when someone called: 3 Common Scoter but no prolonged sea watch.

Approx. 17:00 we noticed hundreds of Gull feeding high in the air just off the east cliffs. Flying Ants were the prey and swarming in 1000’s. Most of the Gulls noted were Mediterranean Gull (150+).

Dragonflies: Migrant Hawker and Common Darter.

Butterflies: Large and Small White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

A couple of interesting Moths: Gold Spot and Beautiful Gothic.

Plus, a Sexton Beetle and a Black Slip Wasp.

All captive insects safely released.

some photos courtesy Loren.

Pied Flycatcher

Chiffchaff

Raven

Starlings on the lighthouse

Little Owl

Beautiful Gothic

Black Slip Wasp

Portland: Day 5.

Sunny spells and heavy showers, 15°, light to breezy N.

A bit of a slow day today with little to find. A brief sea watch produced 5 Manx Shearwater, 3 Balearic Shearwater, 2 Arctic Skua, 4 Common Scoter, a couple of Sandwich Tern and Common/Arctic Tern.

Overhead migration was a little thin, 5 Yellow Wagtail, 6 Grey Wagtail, 3 Tree Pipit, c50 Meadow Pipit and approx. 30 Swallow.

A Pied Flycatcher caught and ringed at the Obs, plus a Sedge Warbler seen, a Common Whitethroat, 3 Blackcap, 10+ Chiffchaff and 4 Willow Warbler.

An afternoon visit to Ferrybridge: a Little Egret, a Mediterranean Gull, 5-6 Knot, a Bar-tailed Godwit, c30 Dunlin, c30 Ringed Plover, a Sanderling and 5 Oystercatcher.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell and Speckled Wood.

Insects: Speckled Bush Cricket and Great Green Bush Cricket.

Several Blue-fin Tuna noted feeding offshore.

Sunrise

Pied Flycatcher

Small Tortoiseshell

Starling sheltering from the rain

Portland: Day 2

Sunny spells, 18°, fresh W.

The day dawned with limited expectations, the sea was relatively quiet and overhead passage was fairly low.

At around 07:00 we started to see a small passage of Shearwaters and then by 07:30 it really kicked off.

The following are rough totals: c700 Great Shearwater (all within 30 minutes), in excess of 500 Manx Shearwater, c15 Balearic Shearwater and 4 Sooty Shearwater.

Plus, 3 Great Skua, 8 Arctic Skua, c50 Sandwich Tern, c20 Common/Arctic Tern, 4 Mediterranean Gull, 200+ Gannet, c30 Kittiwake and c20 Auk sp.

The sea movement petered out towards midday so attention focussed on land birds.

A Marsh Harrier, 3 Raven, a Little Owl, a Short-eared Owl (in, off the sea), a couple of Oystercatcher, 14 Grey Wagtail, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 15 Swallow, 2 House Martin, 5 Sand Martin, c40 Meadow Pipit, 1 Tree Pipit, 8 Wheatear, 3 Whinchat, 1 Stonechat, 1 Blackcap, 1 Common Whitethroat, several Chiffchaff, 2 Willow Warbler and 1 Firecrest.

A small pod of Common Dolphin offshore and a couple of Blue-fin Tuna sightings.

Dragonflies: Emperor and Common Darter.

Butterflies: Small White, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Speckled Wood and Small Heath.

Sunrise

Firecrest

Convolvulus Hawk Moth

Marsh Harrier

Wheatear (above & below)

Raven

Little Owl

Painted Lady

Portland: Day 1.

Showers, 18°, blustery W.

Arrived at Portland a bit late in the day to do any birding. Just a few Chiffchaff in the garden, a Sparrowhawk and a Grey Wagtail over and 6 Gannet flying east over the sea.

22:15: Tree Pipit and Common Sandpiper heard calling overhead after dark.

May Day

Sunny at first then clouding up, 17°, light NE.

Lollingdon, Bunk, River and Long Ditch areas covered today.

Back to birding in Cholsey after a 10-day stint at Portland. A coldish time but viz-mig was good with 96 species.

Firstly a Barn Owl heard at 22:15 last night over Ilges Lane. Per Geoff Wyatt.

Other areas: Oystercatcher, Little Ringed Plover, 2 Common Sandpiper, Little Egret, 2 Herring Gull, 2 Raven, Lapwing, Tree Pipit (flew over garden), Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, 8+ Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, 3+ Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Corn Bunting, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, 2 Swift, several Swallow and House Martin and a single Sand Martin.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: Azure Damselfly.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Green-veined White, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Peacock and Comma.

Contributors: AD, AK, GW, LC & PC.

  

Yellow Wagtail courtesy Andy King

Little Egret courtesy Alan

Azure Damselfly courtesy Alan

Buff-tailed Bumblebee courtesy Loren

Day 8: Cold

A cloudy day with some afternoon rain, 7°, breezy WNW to E.

A bloody cold day with a bitty passage of migrants seen, the exception being Hirundines.

Swallow (100’s), House Martin (50+) and Sand Martin (10+) started around 09:30 and finished of around 14:00, give or take a few.

A sea-watch was non-existent for me other than an Arctic Skua and 28 Common Scoter plus the usuals.

Land: a Cuckoo flew from the garden at first light and may well have roosted there.

c30 Willow Warbler, 10+ Chiffchaff, 2 Common Whitethroat, 3 Blackcap, a Whinchat, a Tree Pipit, a Common Redstart, a Garden Warbler, a Reed Warbler, a Sedge Warbler, 2 Yellow Wagtail and a Whimbrel.

Redstart

Garden Warbler

Day 7: cold and Windy

Mainly cloudy with some light rain, 10°, breezy NNE.

A cold and windy day that produced very few birds on both land and sea and little motivation.

Sea-watch: 7 Whimbrel, 4 Common Scoter, 5 Manx Shearwater and that was about it other than the regulars.

Land: Willow Warbler, 178 ringed in the obs garden today! Several Chiffchaff, 2 Common Whitethroat, 2 Cuckoo and 1 Tree Pipit.

A trip out to Ferrybridge: 5 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2+ Ringed Plover, c10 Dunlin and several Little Tern and Sandwich Tern.

Find the Gannet

A cropped shot

Blackbird with prey

HMS St Alban's off Portland